Create your own Polar Film Festival

How does world of film view the fascinating world of the North and South Poles? This is a question that is by no means a simple one to answer. Just where do you start when confronted by the plethora of cinematographic looks that have been taken at these immense areas of the world, where authentic films about Inuit communities rub shoulders, much further to the south, with the science-fiction of John Carpenter?

So, because mapping these offerings is far from straightforward, we have cast a few lengthy lines of latitude to try and do justice to the fascination that the poles seem to hold for film-makers. The list we have made here is broken down into four categories:

"Poles and People"

"Polar Adventure"

"Pole'p Fiction"

"Polar Ecosystems".

In this PDF document prepared by Antonio Moreno for the International Polar Foundation, you will not find a comprehensive listing of every production linked to the polar regions. Instead, you will find a number of films that have been selected for their artistic qualities, their scientific thoroughness and their ease of access (DVD / VHS) to the general public. Our aim is to get across as broad an image as possible of the variety and depth of "polar cinema".

As we have said, this is by no means a definitive list. But we very much hope that it is a good place to begin your very own "Polar Film Festival"!